Schoolchildren and students from the Bakhmut community joined forces with their peers from the Gostomel community to talk to Liliana Zinkovskaya, a combat medic, ATO veteran, and teacher at the Bakhmut Pedagogical College.
The meeting took place as part of the Bakhmut City Council's veteran project "Living History" and within the framework of the national project "Side by Side: United Communities."
Liliana Zinkovska is a vivid example of how Ukraine's history of struggle is also being written by strong women.
From the first days of Russia's armed aggression in 2014, Liliana Leonidovna, then a civilian nurse at the Bakhmut Pedagogical College, actively joined the volunteer movement in her native Bakhmut. Together with her husband, dentist Valery, she organized comprehensive assistance to the military: from supplying medicines, food, and hygiene products to ensuring the evacuation and treatment of the wounded.
During the most intense period of hostilities, when the First Medical Company of the National Guard of Ukraine named after Pirogov was formed at the city hospital, Liliana Leonidovna made a fateful decision. She joined the army, leaving her civilian job. The medic served in the reception department of a military hospital and took part in trips to the front lines, where she directly encountered the horrors of war: she experienced the loss of comrades and tirelessly saved lives.
After demobilization, she returned to the Bakhmut Pedagogical College. She teaches the subjects "Defense of Ukraine" and "National Resistance," passing on her practical experience to students.
"I try to teach young people not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical skills that can save lives. My duty is to educate a new generation of defenders of Ukraine," emphasized Liliana Zinkovska.
The veteran remains in the reserve, ready to defend her homeland again, setting an example of unity and resilience for young people.
The online meeting became a lesson in "living history" and national unity, confirming that the connection between veterans and young people, between communities affected by Russian aggression, is the foundation for Ukraine's future victory and reconstruction.
Based on materials from the Bakhmut City Council